District: COVID uptick at schools continues

GREENWICH — There have been 11 new COVID-19 cases in Greenwich Public Schools in four days, the school district reported on Tuesday.

Since the start of the school year, the district has reported 161 positive cases of the coronavirus, 64 of which were reported in December, according to statistics from the school district. As of Tuesday, only halfway through the month, the district has reported nearly as many positives in December as it did in all of November — during which 69 cases were reported.

Tuesday also marked the fifth straight update with a double-digit rise in the number of COVID-19 cases. The tracker is updated every Tuesday and Friday by the Greenwich school district.

Of the 19 active cases in the district, 13 are attributed to outside contact, four were

traced back to undetermined community exposure and two are the result of in-school transmission. The latest case involves a Central Middle School teacher, who tested positive after exposure to another adult in the school.

In total, the district has said just three cases have come as the result of inschool contact and has maintained its dedication to keeping students in school, where it says they are relatively safe.

In recent days, nearby school districts in Stamford, Darien and Norwalk all announced plans to shit to fully remote learning for stretches during the holidays.

Asked whether, given the rise of cases and decisions from neighboring superintendents, Greenwich was at all reconsidering its position on remote learning, Board of Education communications liaison Jonathan Supranowitz said Monday, “I can tell you that we are constantly analyzing our situation.”

The last day of school before holiday recess is Dec. 23, according to the district’s 2020-21 school calendar. Barring any shift to remote, school is scheduled to resume with inperson learning Jan. 4.

Currently there are nine public schools in Greenwich with active COVID-19 cases. Greenwich High has six. Central Middle and Glenville each are reporting three. Cos Cob has two positives, and New Lebanon, North Street, Parkway, Riverside and Western Middle each are reporting one case.